January 9, 2014

Sephora Z Palette Not for the OCD Beauty Junkies

I receive a small commission if you shop through my link.

Sephora Z Palette

Hello, I’m the Muse and I’m completely anal about my makeup collection which is why I’m horrified by the Sephora Z Palette. Familiar with Z Palettes?

It’s an empty palette that allows you to depot your favorite products and pop them into a single compact.

OMG my OCD nature is kicking in. Someone hand me a paper bag I’m hyperventilating.

The thing is, I happen to be a beauty junkie that keeps the boxes that everything comes in. Although I have gotten better with that habit over the years and I’ve even brought myself to toss out MAC boxes (just not the LE ones).

So the general idea of popping stuff out of the packaging it originally came in and placing it into a new compact…it’s just too much for my poor brain to handle. I love packaging with a passion and I’d be terribly disappointed if I tossed the old packaging for a single palette. I mean storage wise it is a super idea. And even color wise because you can create great customized palettes matching up all of one shades into a single compact or even creating different palettes featuring colors that go well together etc…

I’ve even see people pop NARS Blushes out of the pan and place them all into a single Z Palette and heck the Z Palette isn’t as gross and sticky as the rubberized packaging NARS gives to us. But I just get so horrified by the idea of paying $29 for a NARS Blush and proceeding to depot and toss the packaging. I mean part of that $29 is the packaging..

I dunno what it is but the idea of Z Palettes just makes me shudder.

However, there are MANY a fan out there! And now you can get your very own Sephora Z Palette for $18 which includes stick on magnetic backings so you can customize and interchange as much as your little non-OCD heart’s content.

As for the rest of us we’ll sit in the corner, wrap our arms around ourselves, and rock back and fourth in horror as we watch you depot.

Grab it now at Sephora and Sephora.com.

Do you depot?

Or does the idea scare you?

P.S. I was listening to King for a Day yesterday so I’ll share it with you. God, how I love me some Vic.

I receive a small commission if you shop through my link.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Tonya

    I thought it was just me. I can’t stand the thought of the z palette. I LOVE pretty packages and even not so pretty packages so I can’t imagine removing my makeup products from their original packaging. I also save the boxes my products come in. It’s a little habit I know I need to break.

    • Isabella Muse

      omg tonya you’re my long lost sister gimme a kiss on the mouth and a hug! LOL ;-D I feel the same way. I love pretty packaging and even not pretty packaging. I’m absolutely horrified by the idea of a nars blush inside a palette with a several eyeshadows or even other blushes! OMG!!!!!!!! I die!

      • anne

        I admit i have depotted a few way back from too faced palettes and UD like the box shadows. but i haven’t used them in ages. Actually it really drives me crazy when i see tarte blushes depotted because i love the packaging. i bought 2 mac blushes as pans and i rarely used them so i feel like i wasted money. i do however love the 9pan zpalette and mac palettes for mac and makeup geek e.s~

  • yelena

    your post is hilarious! thanks for making me smile first thing in the morning. lol. I have never depoted simply because I would be too scared to break something haha. but I am also a sucker for packaging 😀 hmmm….maybe one day I will try it with my WNW 8 Pan palettes which are easily replaced if my clumsy self breaks them.

    • Isabella Muse

      hehe yelena! actually I probably would be TOO brokenhearted to depot WnW palettes so that might be a good way to start!

  • nicole

    Hahaha. I do love z palettes. I’ve depoted 2 palettes worth of some single shadows, an urband decay shadow set that came in way too bulky packaging as well as a benefit shadow strip that came in too bulky of packaging as well. I totally agree about nars blushes or other highend makeup….the packaging is part of what makes it so great! I love the design of this z palette so I would consider it if I needed more space for my mug shadows. I think they are coming out with some pan form blushes which this palette would be perf for. 🙂

    • Isabella Muse

      you’re kinda my hero the idea of depotting a UD palette just makes me cringe!

  • AnniLau

    I do sometimes depot, but not brand new product. I usually do it when I’ve had something for a while, used up (or nearly so) a couple of colors, and the original packaging is starting to look grungy. I don’t really like Z palettes though…they’re cardboard and show wear-and-tear pretty quickly if you use them regularly.

  • Melissa

    I adore Z Pallettes. I found that I wasn’t using all of my makeup because I would forget about a lot of what I had, especially shadows in their own pallettes – like those terribly bulky Too Faced sets. So I spent a few snow days depotting and consolidating almost everything and now it’s easier to see what I’ve got bc the Z Pallettes have the clear window. They have really streamlined my collection and I can take so much more with me when I travel! I don’t know if I can bare to depot Naked 3 though …

  • Sara

    I could see myself using a Z palette if I pressed my loose eyeshadows. I just got obsessed with Fyrinnae’s loose shadow and it’s a bit of a pain with all the little individual containers. But, I haven’t gotten that adventurous yet!

  • Dina

    I agree with u 100% as I was reading I was giggling the idea of depotting just brakes my heart
    I love all packaging and I can’t bring my self to do it.

    • Isabella Muse

      props to people who simplify there lives because I wish I could get on board but my heart breaks thinking of doing it too Dina! kevin rose did a video once and said how he tosses out all game books/manuals etc and stuffs all the cds into one of those big wallet cd holders and I died a little inside! at the time CDs were still kinda popular and he said he did the same with his music…I swear I crawled up and shuddered lol! I could never ever!

      • Li

        Funny that you mentioned CDs…. I once took an empty CD case to store my depotted Kanebo T’estimo blushes and eyeshadows when I saw a makeup artist do this from reading a Japanese magazine. This was before z-palettes existed and T’estimo packaging was not that great (clear bulky hard to open plastic cases). I am OCD but I also think that depotting is a good learning experience for beauty junkies bc it keeps us in check. I depotted two of the Benefit box powders before and when I see the pans out of the fancy packaging I think of the waste – waste of packaging and waste of $ for a blush. I don’t live in a very big place so I depot sometimes if I see I’m hoarding too much.

        • Isabella Muse

          oh gosh I really used to like the testimo cases 🙁 you didn’t like them? How hard was it getting them depotted? They seem so delicate! Although I will say some of the mirrored shadow palettes are SO messy 🙁 they attract fingerprints like crazy I was constantly polishing them after I used them! I love the CD case idea! interesting 😀

          • Li

            The single T’estimo eyeshadows and blushes (not the ones in cases with mirrors) had this hole in the back for sticking a pin to poke the pan out. I think the old shu uemura packing is similar bc they want you to buy the pretty case with the mirror to store the depotted pans. Maquillage and Majolica did this with their single eyeshadows too. Maybe that’s why I thought the CD case idea was so cool since I didn’t want to buy the empty case with mirror.

          • Isabella Muse

            OHHHHHHHH yes I still have some of those singles! I didn’t mind them so much though they are small and easy to store. maquillage used to have the clear cases too with the little slide out drawer I still have some of those too ;-D

  • Amanda

    No way! I have a palettes galore and I will absolutely not depot any of my precious shadows! The idea of wiggling some sharp object to pry it out of the packaging and possibly scuffing up the packaging or the metal tin completely freaks me out. Umm hello what is the point of the rediculously cute packaging these palettes com in if we te just going to pull them out? And the name on the front of the. Palette looks tacky. Same with the sephora z palette looks like it should be free with purchase or something

    • Isabella Muse

      AMEN SISTER! I agree…why splurge on pretty packaged makeup and proceed to ruin it! AHHHH! *runs off screaming*

  • Andi

    I dislike Z-palettes just because they get so darn messy inside, and I hate seeing a bunch of round pans in the rectangular palette, because they never quite fit right. I like it better with square pans like old NYX eyeshadow singles or Nars blushes.

    Z-palettes also just feel so cheap and flimsy to me too! I’ve never understood their popularity after buying one. It’s just cardboard with no real way to keep it closed. Have you seen the Unii palette? Now, that’s a magnetic palette I could get excited about. I wish more companies like Sephora and Makeup Geek used them!

    • Isabella Muse

      i didn’t see the uni palette no!? but I fear my OCD will kick in just as much lol!

      • Li

        I think you’ll like the unii palette! It reminds me of the Nintendo DS because they are about the same size.

      • Andi

        It might not kick in AS much, because if there’s something where you truly hate the packaging, at least Unii feels like a step up rather than a lateral move!

        I completely understand the OCD of depotting something really high quality like a UD palette (OMG HOW DO PEOPLE DEPOT NAKED PALETTES, I CANT EVEN), but I like the idea of depotting a ton of single eyeshadows or palettes like Benefit’s with bulky packaging to something a bit more sturdy and practical like Unii. And they’re just pretty! Like Li says, it reminds me of a streamlined product like a Nintendo DS or an Apple product (particularly in white).

        Mostly, I just don’t buy single eyeshadows though because I hate the clutter. I save my pennies for larger palettes, and then I don’t depot.

        • Isabella Muse

          LOL someone was just saying they depotted a naked palette I almost died. 😀 LOL! I think what bugs me most is even though these palettes look pretty that little thingy on the end (flower or whatever?!) just makes everything uneven…that would drive me crazy!

          • AnniLau

            The flower thing is to rest your thumb on if you’re holding the open palette. You can move it around or remove it if you like.

          • Isabella Muse

            that’s removable!? hey maybe you can convince me to depot!

      • Andi

        Do Urban Decay BYOPs bother your OCD? Now, I’m just curious of the extent of this!

        • Isabella Muse

          No I think I’m ok with that! I’m just seeing my therapist right now about the Z Palette. 🙂

          • Lisha

            Right? For some reason if it’s specifically MEANT & made for therefore guaranteeing a perfect fit and one single brand allowed only…. then it’s not so bad I suppose, like the inglot & urban decay system. Still not a fan but it doesn’t give me owies just thinking about it. I’ll take my eyeshadow palettes preselected, precoordinated & pre packaged please, over easy!

      • Hillary

        I have a couple of the Unii palettes and absolutely love them! I travel a lot and they are far, far more durable than the Z palettes, which just feel flimsy and cheap to me. Plus, the Unii palettes have a mirror, which is utterly fantastic.

  • Amanda

    Hahaha I guess I”m OCD too! Plus I save boxes for “expensive” items and I HAVE NO IDEA WHY!!!! Hoarder!

    • Isabella Muse

      I choose to believe I am very well organized and not a hoarder how the very dare you say I’m hoarding! 😀 LOL!

      • Amanda

        Oh no…I meant I’m a hoarder! But I’m glad I’m in good company!

        • Isabella Muse

          LOL i know was teasing you 🙂 <3! it's ok I'm a proud hoarder lol!

  • Alexandra

    I like z-palettes for their neatness/organizational benefits, but boy does de-potting scare me. Most of the time I end up damaging the shadow a little and I get super upset when that happens. BUT.. I think at the end of the day it’s definitely better for me space-wise to use the z-palettes. I would never de-pot a NARS blush, though! Only eyeshadows! And now I just buy them in the pan so I don’t risk ruining them! Beauty freaks unite! xo

  • Kimberly

    I depoted a bunch of my drugstore lipsticks I never used, hoping I’d reach for them more often. Sadly that’s not the case and a few shades I wish I would have just left in the tubes. I had some high end lippie (basic packaging, that wasn’t special) and put them into a mini wheel and surprisingly I use them to mix with other colors I normally use (hello, personalized red orange lipstick that works on me).

    As for eyeshadows I have to say, the only thing I want to depot is my wet n’ wild (none limited edition packaging). It’ll be a lot easier to store them and in a big palette I feel like they will get used more, instead of sliding around in my drawers.

  • Vanna

    Z-palettes are pretty useful for single eyeshadow pans that don’t come in pots, like Inglot’s shadows. If I had a ton of single eyeshadows, I would probably depot them so that it’s easier to access them quickly and not have to shuffle through shadows. Z-palettes can be an organizational godsend. They seem kind of overpriced though.

    Also, there’s different types of OCD, so saying that it’s not for “OCD Beauty Junkies” is kind of misleading and generalizing statement.

  • Lisa T

    I feel the same way, I would never be able to depot it since I keep the boxes of the packaging as well. However, I do know some people have NARS in the Z Palettes because they were either given to them in a form of a pan (if they work at NARS), or if they purchased it somewhere that only gives them the pan instead of the whole thing with the packaging, which makes me feel better about that being in a Z Palette, lol.

  • Alanna

    I can only see depotting drugstore shadows or shadows from palettes where I’ve used up all but 1 or 2 of them… other than that, no way! I think Z palettes look terribly ugly and cheap, institutional somehow. Functional but soulless!!!!

  • Katie

    I agree. As much as I love the idea of the Z Palette, I cannot and will not ever depot my UD Shadow Boxes or palettes. The packaging is so pretty! Why would you want to part with it? And my Limited Ed Sephora Disney Story Looks? No way could I throw out those boxes.
    The only thing that I must admit I don’t like having around are all my MAC limited ed. eyeshadow singles. Those are usually not sold in pan form and it drives me nuts to have a bunch of those singles rolling around in a drawer. I wish I could buy just the pan, then I’d use a MAC or Z Palette to organize them.

  • Alex

    I filled a z-palette once. Most of the shadows weren’t depotted ones, they were Inglot. Do you know what happens to one of those palettes if they get stepped on? They snap in half and everything inside of them gets crushed and the poor little z-palette that everyone coos about and tells you to travel with colours the inside of your bag rainbow.

    Now I know, I know, my bag should not be subjected to being stepped on- but accidents happen sometimes and my friend didn’t mean to step on it. My unii palette has survived a similar horror tale so……… no z-palettes for me.

  • Tennyoceres

    Z Palette is keeping my growing piles of single eye shadow pots and pans organized. I’m tempted to get like 9 of them to go by color (ROYGBIV, black/grey, and white/pale highlight). Guaranteed to frighten my husband with the scale of my eye shadow collection. But we’ll both be at peace because he won’t find stray eyes shadow singles on random counters or in drawers.

  • Ashley

    The Mac double decker empty palette is more cost effective at $8 and you can buy inserts that still make it the cheaper option.

  • Kitsch Vixen

    I’m so glad I’m not the only one! I still keep the boxes that everything comes in, plus depending on the Zpalette size and what products you put in, sometimes it has a weird space at the bottom or side where nothing fits!
    I do think I’ll be buying a few though just because I have so little space for storage that it’s going to be necessary. Who knows, I might end up loving ’em!

  • sjgs

    I got a Z Palette for shadows and blushes that had either crappy/cheap or overlarge packaging. When the package is 75% and the actual makeup is 25% then it’s time for the package to go. Everyone who’s downing them fortheir quality…do you actually own one? Maybe you can’t just throw it in your purse and throw it around but you shouldn’t do that with any palette.

  • Littlecreek81

    …..you should never look at my makeup collection. You might have a heart attack. If the packaging is annoying, it goes. Back when Too Faced had those unnecessarily bulky awkward boxes, they got hacked. Nars packaging became light grey from all the powder, it got hacked. Original Naked palette, hacked. I don’t depot everything, but when I do, I use homemade “Z Palettes” made from tin gift card holders and a sheet magnet. (yeah, I was gonna try to come up with something clever, but I’m sleepy)

    • Isabella Muse

      I think I died a little bit inside. someone hold me…oh noes Brooke!

      • Littlecreek81

        It’s gonna be Ok hun. I always have a supply of tea and biscuits on hand.

        I guess I’m just too utilitarian. But in my defense I can name the brand and shade of every single thing I have depotted.

          • Littlecreek81

            Funny you mention those. When I went to get Jammie Dodgers for the first time I saw some Digestives that had Cadbury chocolate on the bottom. My brain said “Hey, those look good. A simple cookie with chocolate.” I should have been warned. I should have been told. They are the cookies that have lost their will to live.

            Apologies to those who enjoy a Digestive, but no…..just no.

          • Isabella Muse

            LOL oh let me tell you England’s answer to making bad biscuits good is by adding cadbury chocolate to them. I could have warned you there I’m a a biccie and crisp connoisseur ;-D

          • Littlecreek81

            next time I’ll just take a pic of the biscuit isle and let you tell me which ones to grab. 🙂

  • sjgs

    BTW…you shouldn’t be using a sharp object to depot. You hold a lighter under the original package until the glue melts and the shadow should pop right out.

  • sjgs

    Re the Nars packaging, you can de-grossify it with rubbing alcohol. It takes off the rubber part. I tried this with my Orgasm (lol) and it worked perfectly.

  • Caroline

    Hilarious – and so true! I thought I was the only one who felt this way about depotting! I love packaging so much and try to keep all the little boxes that my palettes come in and whatnot. Not very efficient, storage-wise, but it’s all so pretty! I’m with you – Z-Palettes are dreadful and I will not be buying one. LOL

  • kimmyyy

    I think the z-palettes are a super neat idea, but I’m way too scared to mess things up trying to depot! I attempted to depot a couple of eye shadows once and I completely ruined them, not to mention made a giant mess! I was horrified! Some people make it look so easy and it totally wasn’t. The glue on those shadows was just too epic… I ended up launching shadow all over my room, hahahaha. I have a few bulky palettes with an array of things in them (shadow, blush, bronzer, etc) that I would absolutely love to store in separate smaller packaging, but I just can’t bring myself to possibly destroy the makeup and funk up the packaging. What’s a girl to do?? UHG!

    • kimmyyy

      By the way, the main issue I have with something like the z-palette is that it’s hard to figure out what’s what! I’d have to keep all of one brand together or risk driving myself crazy trying to keep it all straight. I’d also go a little nuts trying to organize it all, as someone said, there are bound to be weird open spots and conflicting sizes with the pans.
      Also, I’m totally guilty of holding on to packaging, especially if it’s pretty! I used to drive my mom nuts keeping my video game and system packaging and manuals. She just didn’t understand…

      • Isabella Muse

        ok, as far as keeping everything I can totally relate, I just wanna say that I still have a version of the Print Shop for the Commadore64 with manuals and box on my software shelf as well as most every Sierra title every created including all versions of King Quest and most of Roberta Williams works. UGH…lol hoarder ;-D

      • sjgs

        As far as keeping track of what’s what, after I filled my palette I took a piece of paper and wrote down what was where.

    • Isabella Muse

      i brought that em palette, the big one, and it comes with a little pick to remove the shadows and it’s so easy to do/etc and me, being an idiot, poked a hole in a shadow..LOL problems!

  • Katie

    I used to keep all the packaging and boxes then my hoarding became an issue in my tiny apartment and I had to streamline.

    Now I’m at the other end of the spectrum. I’ve gone Z and can’t go back, haha. Sorry to give you a coronary Muse but here is my UD uber-zpalette(pro size) that includes naked, naked3, 15th anniversary palette and smoked. ;D
    https://springpad.com/proxy/userdata/b3093/b30930d35b3e5ed69ef44717f2cf124f/IMG_1766.jpg

    I do have to say with depotting, fixing cracked eyeshadows is a new skill that needs to be learned… I just admire the packaging and give it a few moments of silence and then have at it, haha.

    • Isabella Muse

      oh god oh god that picture is making me die a little bit inside *hides my eyes* no I’m kidding it actually looks pretty awesome!

  • breyerchic04

    I’ve been considering a Z palette, but not to depot, because NO! What I want to do is put my MAC highlight and contour propans, plus a couple mini benefit mini powders (dandelion, hoola, coralista) that are in cheesy plastic wrap thickness pans.

  • Quinctia

    Eh, Z palettes are a bit ugly and flimsy. I bought a magnetic palette from an etsy seller that’s adorable. It is supposed to be for all my single shadows, but I am way, way behind on depotting singles. (UD discontinuing Deluxe and Stardust shadows made my singles collection explode.)

  • Sara Elisabeth

    No, I don’t depot! However, I do use z palettes for things that are easily removed from their packages (and put back in), like Make Up For Ever eye shadows and Tarte Blushes. Why don’t more companies do that??? That way I can customize my palette when I travel and keep the pretty packages for home!

  • Gabby

    Lol! I never depot high-end makeup because yes, part of the reason I paid so much money is for the gorgeous packaging. However, A LOT of my drugstore single shadows get depotted – NYX, CoverGirl, Wet ‘n’ Wild, etc shadows especially since they are so easy to depot and otherwise they would take up way too much space. Plus those single drugstore eyeshadow’s plastic packaging is usually pretty cheap and breakable so I feel like the Z-Palette is actually a safer way to store my shadows.

  • Teresa

    Funnily enough, I just got my first Z palettes last week. I am in the process of depotting all of my WnW shadows. I have so many trios and 8-pan palettes that take up way too much room. I would never depot any of my higher end stuff or really anything unless it came from the drugstore. But I have no problem ditching the generic, cheap plastic crap WnW comes in.

  • Kiki

    You guys … you guys!!! De-potting your makeup creates MORE room for MORE makeup!!!! Once you get over the emotional … i dunno … hump, and aren’t scared to de-pot (its not hard and you can salvage mishaps with rubbing alcohol) and also detach with (sometimes) cute but (never) functional packaging it is such a lifesaver. The ocd/hoarder in me even labels mine. (Don’t judge me) It looks like these come with a spatula? No more risking a lost finger using a knife! I’m in – gunna pick up the dome one. Word to the wise – you get what you pay for with the MAC palettes – not magnetic and crack like crazy when you drop em. Ooouff.

  • Anna

    I like the Z-Palettes, but only for MAC makeup, because then I can buy it cheaper without the pot and put it in the palette. The regular Z palette (not by sephora) is 4 dollars cheaper though

  • CatG

    I totally agree with you! I could never depot my eyeshadows, though I’ve been witness to the craze. I like packaging and keeping things the way I purchased them… glad it’s not just me!

  • Ruth

    Muse, you would sh!t kittens if you see what I’ve done! I’ve depotted my Nars blushes and bronzer and put them all into 1 pallet. another pallet holds UD’s Nekkid 1&2 along with a BOS. another one has my couple of tart blushes with benefit’s blushes as well. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a ton of stuff not depotted but I really like everything together like that. it cuts down on me losing the smaller packaging amidst everything else.

    • Isabella Muse

      LOL ruth…yeah, I’m def freaking out here! it just makes me cringe no offense 😀

  • beautybabbling

    I love my Z Palettes. I had a little bit of a hard time with getting rid of the pretty packaging on some things, but it just got to be too much. However, I haven’t and don’t plan on depotting my Naked Palettes or the palettes are are already relatively streamlined. I also plan on keeping my Vice Palettes and 15th Anniversary Palette intact.

    I also have an issue with keeping boxes. I’ve gotten better, but I still have boxes for some of the more “special” palettes in my collection.

  • Elena

    Nonononono. It wasn’t until this very moment that I’ve realized I am very attached to packaging. I have my 3 naked palettes on my dressing table and they are soso gorgeous. I was so sad just at the idea of depotting them! And my new 2013 Holiday Tarte Blush palette…I could never.

  • Andrea

    I’m sorry to go so off topic aaaah but I gotta say it

    OMG YOU LIKE PIERCE THE VEIL YOU’RE MY NEW FAVORITE!!!!!!

    mkay fangirling done XD I love Pierce The Veil so much and aaaagh Vic is so hot and his voice and nuuuurg I can’t even

    Okay NOW the fangirling is done, promise! Yeah I could never bring myself to depot anything either… I’m too much of a packaging hoe! Plus, me combined with sharp and/or hot objects is NOT a good combination!!!

    • Isabella Muse

      lol andrea! HUGE fan here too! I totally relate to the love for Vic. boy band voice meets heavy metal what more could you want hehe ;-D

  • Miss D

    I totally need something like this in my life, since my apartment is feeling smaller and smaller with all the crap I own but:
    A) I’d have to actually purchase this, and
    B) I’d have to actually put it to use and not leave it in the container I bought it in

    For some reason I can’t see myself doing A or B. 🙁

  • Hillarie

    I pretty much only depot my cheaper products or buy products that just come in the pan anyway. I could never depot any or my pricier products. Ever.

  • Grace

    I can’t even bring myself to thow away the paper packing my makeup comes in. This just creeps the hell out of me and my ocd mind haha

    • Isabella Muse

      LOL ditto! whenever I buy Chanel I keep the bag and tissue baby *head desk*

  • Veronica

    Aw yiss, gurl. I’ve always wanted one of these, but the cost of shipping in addition to the price made it silly when I could easily make my own. If they’re available in stores, I’ll be all over them. I’d love to have a sturdier one then my homemade Z-palette for travel. (It’s nearly filled to the brim, as it is!)

  • Olivia

    I don’t really like depotting things, but I like using the Z palette for my INGLOT eyeshadows because I hate their palette set up.

  • Rachel

    I just threw out all my boxes last weekend – I had been saving everything for YEARS! I decided that my makeup/polish room was just getting too full and I had to start organizing, so when I found two big cardboard boxes full of packaging, I just started pitching it. It was REALLY hard to let those LE MAC boxes go, but I can’t see that I will ever need them again, right?!?

    I do have a UNII palette, but I haven’t filled it yet. I don’t plan on depotting anything except all the Wet ‘n Wild 3-pan palettes. I don’t have room to have a million of those hanging around, so I decided I could depot all of them and put them in one place and save myself a little room? Except, ya know, I haven’t done it yet!! 😀 I don’t mind parting with the cheap packaging, but I could never get depot something that cost more than a couple of bucks!

    Does this mean you don’t ever buy MAC eyeshadow pans? I started doing that to save a bit of money and have been putting them in ELF empty quads!

    • Isabella Muse

      you might need them *looks at the ceiling and whistles innocently* hehe! 😀 nope never, purchase mac singles ever..only pot!

      • breyerchic04

        Even pro only products? That’s where I find myself wanting one of these. And I think I’m about to go ahead and do it, for the pro only blushes and powders, as well as some of the benefit square ones, it’s easier to have multiple shapes fit.

  • Sasha

    Love Z Palettes! I’ve combined 3 NAKED palettes into 1 Z Palette. I think that speaks volumes of saving space and having everything at my fingertips. Plus I use it for refills as well so I don’t always need to depot everything. My custom palette filled with shadows, blushes, concealers, and lipsticks sure comes in handy on my travel getaways. Love, love, love Z Palette. I just picked up one of their crocodile collection palettes, but now that I’ve learned about the Sephora version this is next. Thanks for the heads up!

  • Lisha

    I totally thought I was the only one who felt this way about those z palettes, but the naming fits I gotta say… turns all your beautiful special high end expensive fancy SPECIAL products into some nameless faceless, unspecial anonymous zzzz products = snore! Not to mention, on another OCD note, there’s no freaking way that you’d be able to fill those things up so that everything fits in there just perfectly and having some kind of irregular gap at the end that’s too small to fit another product into would just be a tragedy.

  • Phyrra

    LOL! I stick my Makeup Geek, Inglot and MAC refill pans in my z-palettes 🙂 I’ve only depotted a few times (like my UD Sustainable shadow box palette) and it’s been hit or miss with depotting, but I love them for shadows without packaging.

  • Nat

    I depotted and filled 3 z palettes…and I never reach for them when I do my make-up. Waaaah, I wasted all that time! XD

  • Lisa

    I totally agree that I can’t see throwing away perfectly good packaging that I paid for, but I like it for products that I can get cheaper sans packaging (e.g. mac pro pans). Though I am very tempted to depot my UD BoS, since I never use it due to the pain-in-the-arse packaging.
    BUT I hate Z palettes because they’re so bulky and heavy. And while I have always found it very odd that Sephora didn’t sell Z palettes, I’m not so jazzed that they’re asking you to pay a premium for the privilege of having your palette clothed in a sephora advertisement. Why should these Z palettes cost several dollars more than regular Z palettes? (I mean, of course I know why, I’m just saying it’s ridiculous.)

  • Jackie Diane

    I’m not quite sure about hyperventilating but I’m getting that uncomfortable tight feeling in my chest reading this post and some of these comments. How do you know the name of the color if it’s depoted?! I am feeling better though. I try to keep products new in box for as long as possible; and it takes me days to stop carrying new orders delivered in the shipping box the way it came. I’ve been secretly worried that I have a problem for years. Now I know at least I’m not alone. Am I the only one who has a hard time even swatching new pretties? Or won’t use new lippies until I have prefectly smooth lips so they don’t scratch up the product? Hmmm maybe I do have a problem…

    • Isabella Muse

      LOL I have big issues with swatching Jackie 😀 really big issues lol! 😀

  • Denise

    I’m a de-potting queen and I LOVE Z palettes! packaging is definitely not my thing and I do try to buy my eye shadows sans packaging when I can. Love this!

  • Melissa

    I originally purchased this for my depots instead of the mac palettes because the newer Mac palettes were so expensive (and my friend gets a discount on beauty.com for the zpalettes). I hate them! I like everything to look neat! I could get my Mac shadows to go in there evenly, but my MakeupGeek shadows were ever so slightly larger so one row was wonky! CAN’T STAND IT! Everything looks pretty now in my Mac palettes. I’d only use these if I knew everything would fit perfectly. If not, NOPE! Glad I’m not the only one. >.> Also…wtf is up with the price of the Sephora ones?! REALLY?! No.

  • cat

    Ugh, no. Half the time I feel like I’m paying for how pretty the packaging is. And most of my makeup rarely leaves the house so it doesn’t make sense to depot and put everything in a big palette for the few times I travel or do my makeup elsewhere. However, there are two products where I don’t mind the idea of a Z palette, the MAC eyeshadows and the Inglot shadows. The Inglot shadows are already sold as basic pans with the Freedom system and I don’t know why but MAC seems to have the flimsiest packaging for their eyeshadows.

  • Maria A

    The only thing I would use this Z pallet for is nyx blushes. I don’t have the heart to depot anything else. I love packaging way too much.

  • Caroline

    My real issue here is that Sephora is charging an extra $10 for these palettes! I love Sephora, but that seems a bit much. I have a large Z palette sitting in my Amazon cart right now for $18 with Prime shipping.

    I don’t save boxes, but I do love packaging. No, I could never depot UD palettes or the like, but if I succumb and buy single eyeshadows (or trios), they get lost and I don’t use them much. So I do keep a palette on hand for those.

  • Heather F.

    I’m kind of anxiously dancing back and forth on this–I have about 80-100 UD shadows that (if depotted) would fit very nicely into four z palettes instead of the ridiculously bulky UD packaging that’s clogging my countertops and vanity.

    On the other hand, it means I’d be paying $80 for the privilege of throwing away some gorgeous (albeit impractical) boxes.

    On the other other hand, I’d love to be able to incorporate shadows from multiple palettes into a single look without trying to juggle (for example) the anniversary palette & book of shadows & vice 2 on my tiny sink countertop.

    On the other other other hand (look how dexterous I am!), not having them perfectly labeled (a la the palettes) might limit me when I try to follow someone else’s tutorials. First world problems, right? 😉

    I’m moving overseas next month and only get to take three suitcases with me, so I suspect I’ll just have to bite the bullet and condense my stuff. Makes my heart clench a little, though! :/

    • Candice

      Too funny (you’re a good writer)

      Sounds like for convenience you need to take the step forward and condense your palettes. Just the small countertop seems like enough of a reason, but moving overseas… You’ll be better off like that if you can let go! Good luck with everything!

  • Charlotte

    I thought about getting a z-palette but then realised that you can do the same thing with mac palettes and instead of sticking metal to the bottom of pans, just stick on some tiny magnets.

  • Candice

    I really like the idea of the Z palette but I don’t like the idea of de-potting my palettes! I might be willing to try with a palette I don’t really like and didn’t pay much money for but really there wouldn’t be any use lol

    I’m thinking of my favourite and most expensive palette Vice 2… It’s true, I don’t reach for it as often as I would if I had it in a couple smaller palettes that are easier to reach for… but OMG how could anyone de-pot this beautiful work of art!!!! Never!

    I do plan on getting a Z palette to buy some eye shadow pans, maybe even blush and customize my own palette from there. For travelling and for easy access of products for a go-to look, but de-potting… I’m not sold!

    • Isabella Muse

      I’m with you, just the idea of depotting vice 2 makes me cry 😀

  • Emily

    I broke down and got a unii pallet for work travel. I ONLY did so after discovering the dental floss method of removal (google it) which doesn’t ruin the original packaging. This way I popped out a few nars blushes, UD shadows, and nars highlighter without damaging the original packaging so I can always put them back in the original packaging if I want to. However some brands don’t seem to have the needed gap for dental floss removal.

  • Melissa

    I know I am way late on this post, but I will never buy a ZPalette again. I bought two of them about 2 years ago – I am an on-location Makeup Artist, so palettes are key for me. However, Z-Palettes started to break down after so many uses – the plastic began ripping/tearing. I wrote to Z-Palette, explaining that my palettes are kept in a case and are only taken out when I’m on a job…so the only use they get is when I’m opening/closing them. They don’t sit underneath anything heavy, etc. I would have expected them to stand by their product – a palette should not be breaking down after 2 years. They refused to help in any way. Lesson learned!!

  • Grace

    I loooove the idea of the z palette for certain shadows. I’m not a fan of the idea to depot my shadows/blushes. But I do have have some mac refil pan shadows and I hate their plastic palettes. So this is a good sturdy alternative. NOW I have discovered morphe brushes single shadows which are to die for!!!! For $2 and great pigmentation you just can’t go wrong there. So I got the z palette to store my new single shadows. I’m all for it in that aspect, but definitely not a depoter.

  • Zee

    I dislike those Z palettes, if I depot anything it has to fit perfectly in a slot or at least have dividers to separate each product, that is why I only use the Inglot & MAC palettes.

  • Katrosado

    As the years have passed by I’ve grown more selective about what I add to my collection. Now, packaging is a major factor in my decision to purchase a product. I don’t depot but I probably should to consolidate items that I purchased that had less than spectacular packaging. For me, personally, packaging (especially high-end products) is a major attraction to get me to part ways with my money. 🙂

  • staci

    I’ve been wanting to put my Milani bella gel powder eyeshadows in a z pallet. I think I would use them more. The singles are kinda bulky. Plus if I broke one, it’s only Milani.

  • Bree

    Ahhhh I totally disagree Muse. I actually do own a z palette because I bought the stila artist signature set ages ago and I just wasn’t getting any use out of the shadows, despite the fact their quality was amazing, because the packaging is just so huge. I bought the large and small (one for storage one to keep on my vanity/for travel) and I love it so much!! I depotted some mac eyeshadows too because I don’t even like the mac packaging (so cheep and nasty) and I get so much more use out of them. Overall, I think if the original packaging is not to your taste or inconvenient, z palettes are a great way of using eyeshadows you love. I would never depot a shadow in nice packaging though.

  • Erika

    I just saw a picture on Instagram of somebody who depotted her Serpentina, Metal Matte and Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette. A part of me died a little.